Array substrate for liquid crystal display device and fabrication method thereof

ABSTRACT

An array substrate for a liquid crystal display (LCD) device include: a substrate; a gate line formed in one direction on one surface of the substrate; a data line crossing the gate line to define a pixel area; a thin film transistor (TFT) configured at a crossing of the gate line and the data line; a pixel electrode formed at a pixel region of the substrate; an insulating film formed on the entire surface of the substrate including the pixel electrode and the TFT, including a first insulating film formed of a high temperature silicon nitride film and a second insulating film formed of a low temperature silicon nitride film, and having a contact hole having an undercut shape exposing the pixel electrode; a pixel electrode connection pattern formed within the contact hole having an undercut shape and connected with the pixel electrode and the TFT; and a plurality of common electrodes separately formed on the insulating film.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit ofearlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application10-2010-0099500, filed on Oct. 12, 2010, the content of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a liquid crystal display device and,more particularly, to an array substrate for a liquid crystal displaydevice and a fabrication method thereof.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

In general, the driving principle of a liquid crystal display (LCD)device uses an optical anisotropy and polarization properties of liquidcrystal. Liquid crystals have a thin, long structure, so they haveorientation in an alignment of molecules, and the direction of thealignment of molecules can be controlled by intentionally applying anelectric field to the liquid crystal.

Thus, when the direction of the alignment of molecules of the liquidcrystal is adjusted, the alignment of molecules of the liquid crystalcan be changed, and light is refracted in the direction of the molecularalignment of the liquid crystal by optical anisotropy, thus displayingimage information.

Currently, an active matrix liquid crystal display (AM-LCD) (which willbe referred to as an ‘LCD’, hereinafter) in which thin film transistors(TFTs) and pixel electrodes connected to the TFTs are arranged in amatrix form has come to prominence because of its excellent resolutionand video implementation capabilities.

The LCD includes a color filter substrate (i.e., an upper substrate) onwhich a common electrode is formed), an array substrate (i.e., a lowersubstrate) on which pixel electrodes are formed, and liquid crystalfilled between the upper substrate and the lower substrate. In the LCD,the common electrode and the pixel electrodes drive liquid crystal by anelectric field applied vertically, having excellent characteristics oftransmittance, aperture ratio, and the like.

However, the driving of liquid crystal by the electric field appliedvertically is disadvantageous in that viewing angle characteristics arenot good. Thus, in order to overcome the shortcomings, a method fordriving liquid crystal by in-plane field has been newly proposed. Themethod for driving liquid crystal by in-plane field has excellentviewing angle characteristics.

In the in-plane switching mode LCD is configured such that a colorfilter substrate and an array substrate face each other, and a liquidcrystal is interposed therebetween.

On the array substrate, a TFT, a common electrode, and a pixel electrodeare formed on each of a plurality of pixels defined on the transparentinsulating substrate.

Also, the common electrode and the pixel electrode are separated to beparallel on the same substrate.

The color filter substrate include black matrixes at portionscorresponding to gate lines, data lines, and the TFTs on the transparentinsulating substrate, and color filters are formed to corresponds to thepixels.

The liquid crystal layer is driven by an in-plane field of the commonelectrode and the pixel electrode.

In the in-plane switching mode LCD configured as described above, thecommon electrode and the pixel electrode are formed as transparentelectrodes in order to secure luminance, but only portions of both endsof the common electrode and the pixel electrode contribute toimprovement of the luminance due to the distance between the commonelectrode and the pixel electrode in terms of design and most regionsblock light.

Thus, a fringe field switching (FFS) technique has been proposed tomaximize the luminance improvement effect. The FFS technique preciselycontrols liquid crystal to eliminate a color shift and obtain highcontract ratio, implementing high screen quality compared with thegeneral in-plane switching technique.

However, although the related art FFS mode LCD can implement a wideviewing angle in left and right viewing angles, as the size of the LCDis increased, the lateral viewing angle and upper and lower viewingangles are required to be further improved.

The related art FFS mode LCD will now be described with reference toFIG. 1.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an array substrate of the related art LCDdevice.

As shown in FIG. 1, the array substrate for the related art LCD deviceincludes a plurality of gate lines 17 b extending in one direction andseparated to be parallel on a substrate 11, a plurality of data lines 29c crossing the gate lines 17 b and defining pixel regions at thecrossings of the gate lines 17 b and the data lines 29 c; and a thinfilm transistor (T) provided at the crossing of the gate line 17 b andthe data line 29 c and including a gate electrode 17 a, an active layer(not shown), a source electrode 29 a, and a drain electrode 29 b.

Also, a transparent pixel electrode 13 a is disposed to be separatedfrom the gate line 17 b and the data line 29 c on the entire surface ofthe pixel region, and a plurality of transparent common electrodes 39 ahaving a bar-like shape are disposed at an upper portion of the pixelelectrode 13 a with an insulating film (not shown) interposedtherebetween.

The pixel electrode 13 a is electrically connected by a pixel electrodeconnection pattern 39 b connected with the drain electrode 29 b.

Lateral ends of the plurality of common electrodes 39 a having abar-like shape are connected with the common electrode connectionpattern 39 c, and a portion of the common electrode connection pattern39 c is disposed to be parallel to the gate line 17 b.

Meanwhile, in case of exposing to form a contact hole 37 for connectingthe pixel electrode 13 a and the drain electrode 29 b, an overlay marginM1 of about 2 μm is required between one end of each of the plurality ofcommon electrodes 39 a and the pixel electrode connection pattern 39 b,and a short margin of about 4 μm is required between the pixel electrodeconnection pattern 39 b and the edge of the side of the common electrode39 a, reducing the upper common electrode 39 a, which leads to areduction in the aperture ratio of the common electrode, an increase inthe black matrix used for blocking light, and a reduction intransmittance.

A method for fabricating the array substrate for an in-plane switching(IPS) mode LCD device according to the related art configured asdescribed above will be described as follows.

FIGS. 2A to 20 are sectional views taken along line II-II in FIG. 1 ofthe array substrate for an LCD device according to the related art.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the process of fabricating the arraysubstrate for an LCD device according to the related art, which explainsa defective disconnection of a pixel electrode during an exposureprocess for patterning a common electrode.

As shown in FIG. 2A, a plurality of pixel regions including a switchingregion are defined on the transparent insulating substrate 11, an ITOlayer 13 is deposited on the transparent insulating substrate 11 throughsputtering, and then, a first photosensitive film 15 is applied on theITO layer 13.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the first photosensitive film 15 is exposed anddeveloped through a first masking process using photolithography toselectively pattern the first photosensitive film 15 to form a firstphotosensitive film pattern 15 a.

As shown in FIG. 2C, the ITO layer 13 is selectively patterned by usingthe first photosensitive film pattern 15 a to form the pixel electrode13 a.

Thereafter, the first photosensitive film pattern 15 a is removed, agate electrode metal layer 17 is deposited on the entire surface of thesubstrate including the pixel electrode 13 a through sputtering, and asecond photosensitive film 19 is coated thereon.

As shown in FIG. 2D, the second photosensitive film 19 is exposed anddeveloped through photolithography so as to be selectively patterned toform a second photosensitive film pattern 19 a.

As shown in FIG. 2E, the metal layer 17 is selectively patterned byusing the second photosensitive film pattern 19 a as a mask to form agate line (not shown) along with the gate electrode 17 a.

As shown in FIG. 2F, the second photosensitive film pattern 19 a isremoved, a gate oxide film 21, an amorphous silicon layer 23, and anamorphous silicon layer 25 including impurities are sequentiallydeposited on the entire surface of the substrate including the gateelectrode 17 a and the pixel electrode 13 a, and then, a thirdphotosensitive film 27 is coated on the amorphous silicon layer 25including impurities.

As shown in FIG. 2G, the third photosensitive film 27 is exposed anddeveloped so as to be patterned through a third masking process usingphotolithography to form a third photosensitive film pattern 27 a.

As shown in FIG. 2H, the amorphous silicon layer 25 containingimpurities and the amorphous silicon layer 23 are selectively patternedby using the third photosensitive film pattern 27 a as a mask to form anohmic-contact layer 25 a and an active layer 23 a overlapping with thegate electrode 17 a.

Thereafter, the third photosensitive film pattern 27 a is removed, ametal layer 29 is deposited on the entire surface of the substrateincluding the active layer 23 a and the ohmic-contact layer 25 a, andthen, a fourth photosensitive film 31 is coated on the metal layer 29.

As shown in FIG. 2I, the fourth photosensitive film 31 is exposed anddeveloped so as to be patterned through a fourth masking process usingphotolithography to form a fourth photosensitive film pattern 31 a.

As shown in FIG. 2J, the metal layer 29 is selectively patterned byusing the fourth photosensitive film pattern 31 a as a mask to formseparated source and drain electrodes 29 a and 29 b and a data line (notshown). At this time, a portion of the ohmic-contact layer 25 a exposedbetween the source and drain electrodes 29 a and 29 b is also removed toform a channel region of the active layer 23 a.

As shown in FIG. 2K, the fourth photosensitive film pattern 31 a isremoved, a protective film 33 is deposited on the entire surface of thesubstrate including the source and drain electrodes 29 a and 29 b, andthen, a fifth photosensitive film 35 is coated on the protective film33.

As shown in FIG. 2L, the fifth photosensitive film 35 is exposed anddeveloped so as to be patterned through a fifth masking process usingphotolithography to form a fifth photosensitive film pattern 35 a.

Subsequently, the protective film 33 and the gate insulating film 21 aresequentially etched by using the fifth photosensitive film pattern 35 aas a mask to form a contact hole 37 exposing portions of the drainelectrode 29 b and the pixel electrode 13 a.

As shown in FIG. 2M, the fifth photosensitive film pattern 35 a isremoved, an ITO layer 39 is deposited on the protective film 33including the contact hole 37 through sputtering, and then, a sixthphotosensitive film 41 is coated on the ITO layer 39.

As shown in FIG. 2N, the sixth photosensitive film 41 is exposed anddeveloped so as to be patterned through a sixth masking process usingphotolithography to form sixth photosensitive film patterns 41 a and 41b. At this time, the sixth photosensitive film pattern 41 a is formed atan upper portion of the ITO layer 39 corresponding to a pixel electrodeconnection pattern region connecting a pixel electrode and a drainelectrode, and the sixth photosensitive film pattern 41 b is formed atan upper portion of the ITO layer 39 corresponding to a common electroderegion.

As shown in FIG. 2O, the ITO layer 39 is selectively etched by using thesixth photosensitive film patterns 41 a and 41 b as masks to form apixel electrode connection pattern 39 b connecting the drain electrode29 b and the pixel electrode 13 a, a plurality of bar-like commonelectrodes 39 a, and a common electrode connection pattern 39 cconnecting the plurality of common electrodes 39 a to each other.

And then, the sixth photosensitive film patterns 41 a and 41 b areremoved, completing the process for fabricating the array substrate foran IPS mode LCD device according to the related art.

However, as described above, when the sixth photosensitive film isexposed to form the common electrode 39 a and the pixel electrodeconnection pattern 39 b, the sixth photosensitive film pattern 41 c forforming the pixel electrode connection pattern is formed only at aportion of the contact hole 37 due to misalignment as shown in FIG. 3,exposing a portion of the ITO layer 39 in contact with the pixelelectrode 13 a at a lower portion of the contact hole 37.

Thus, with the portion of the ITO layer 39 exposed, when the ITO layer39 is etched by using the sixth photosensitive film pattern 41 c as amask, the ITO layer 39 at a lower portion of the contact hole 37 isetched, the underlying pixel electrode 13 a is also etched together asthe ITO layer 39 at a lower portion of the contact hole 37 is etched,causing the pixel electrode 13 a to be disconnected.

Thus, in the related art, in order to solve the problem of thedisconnection of the pixel electrode 13 a caused as the underlying pixelelectrode 13 a is also etched together when the ITO layer 39 at a lowerportion of the contact hole 37 is etched, the sixth photosensitive filmpattern 41 a for forming the pixel electrode connection pattern isformed up to the vicinity of the common electrode region including thecontact hole 37 region.

However, since the sixth photosensitive film pattern 41 a for formingthe pixel electrode connection pattern is formed up to the vicinity ofthe common electrode region including the contact hole 37 region, thearea of the common electrode is reduced as much. Namely, when the ITOlayer is exposed, an overlay margin M1 of about 2 μm or greater isrequired between one end of the plurality of common electrode and thepixel electrode connection pattern and a short margin of about 4 μm orgreater is required between the edge of the side of the common electrodeand the pixel electrode connection pattern, so the area of the commonelectrode is reduced to reduce the aperture ratio and transmittance.

Also, in the array substrate for an LCD device and the fabricationmethod thereof, the array substrate for an LCD device is fabricatedthrough the six masking processes, namely, the first masking process forforming the pixel electrode, the second masking process for forming thegate electrode, the third masking process for forming the active layerand the ohmic-contact layer, the fourth masking process for forming thesource and drain electrodes, the fifth masking process for forming thecontact hole to connect the drain electrode and the pixel electrode; andthe sixth masking process for forming the common electrode, so thenumber of fabrication processes are increased to lengthen time requiredfor the fabrication process as much.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An array substrate for an LCD device, includes: a gate line formed inone direction on one surface of a substrate; a data line crossing thegate line to define a pixel area; a thin film transistor (TFT)configured at a crossing of the gate line and the data line; a pixelelectrode formed at a pixel region of the substrate; an insulating filmformed on the entire surface of the substrate including the pixelelectrode and the TFT, including a first insulating film formed of ahigh temperature silicon nitride film and a second insulating filmformed of a low temperature silicon nitride film, and having a contacthole having an undercut shape exposing the pixel electrode; a pixelelectrode connection pattern formed within the contact hole having anundercut shape and connected with the pixel electrode and the TFT; and aplurality of common electrodes separately formed on the insulating film.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for fabricating an array substrate for an LCD, including:preparing a substrate; forming a gate line arranged in one directionalong with a pixel electrode on the substrate; forming a data linecrossing the gate line to define a pixel area; forming a TFT at thecrossing of the gate line and the data line; stacking a first insulatingfilm formed of a high temperature silicon nitride film and a secondinsulating film formed of a low temperature silicon nitride film on theentire surface of the substrate including the pixel electrode and theTFT; patterning the second insulating film and the first insulating filmto form a contact hole having an undercut shape exposing the pixelelectrode and the TFT; forming a pixel electrode connection patternconnected with the pixel electrode and the TFT within the contact holehaving an undercut shape; and forming a plurality of common electrodesseparately on the second insulating film.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an array substrate for a liquid crystal display(LCD) device according to the related art;

FIGS. 2A to 2O are sectional views showing a process for fabricating thearray substrate for a liquid crystal display (LCD) device according tothe related art, taken along line II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the process of fabricating the arraysubstrate for an LCD device according to the related art, which explainsa defective disconnection of a pixel electrode during an exposureprocess for patterning a common electrode;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an array substrate for a liquid crystal display(LCD) device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the array substrate for an LCD deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention, taken along lineV-V in FIG. 4; and

FIGS. 6A to 6Q are sectional views of a process for fabricating thearray substrate for an LCD device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND THE PRESENTLY PREFERREDEMBODIMENTS

An array substrate for a liquid crystal display (LCD) device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an array substrate for a liquid crystal display(LCD) device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the array substrate for an LCD deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention, taken along lineV-V in FIG. 4.

The LCD device according to an embodiment of the present invention is anadvanced horizontal in-plane switching (AH-IPS) mode LCD device proposedto improve side and upper and lower viewing angles and transmittance.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the array substrate for an LCD deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention includes a pluralityof gate lines 105 c extending in one direction and separated to beparallel on a substrate 101, a plurality of data lines 117 c crossingthe gate lines 105 c and defining pixel regions at the crossings of thegate lines 105 c and the data lines 117 c; and a thin film transistor(T) provided at the crossing of the gate line 105 c and the data line117 c and including a gate electrode 105 a, an active layer (not shown),a source electrode 117 a, and a drain electrode 117 b.

Also, a transparent pixel electrode 103 b is disposed to be separatedfrom the gate line 105 c and the data line 117 c on the entire surfaceof the pixel region, and a plurality of transparent common electrodes131 b having a bar-like shape are disposed at an upper portion of thepixel electrode 103 b with an insulating film (not shown) havingheterogeneous characteristics interposed therebetween.

Here, the plurality of transparent common electrodes 131 b having abar-like shape are disposed to be parallel to the data lines 117 c, andare spaced apart by a certain interval from each other.

The pixel electrode 103 b is electrically connected with the drainelectrode 117 b by a pixel electrode connection pattern 131 a through acontact hole 129 having an undercut shape formed in an insulating film(not shown) (Refer to 123 and 125 in FIG. 5) having a dual-structurehaving heterogeneous characteristics. Here, the contact hole 129 havingan undercut shape includes a tapered structure of the first insulatingfilm 123 and a reversely tapered structure of the second insulating film125. The pixel electrode connection pattern 131 a is in contact with thedrain electrode 117 b having the tapered structure of the firstinsulating film 123 and the pixel electrode 103 b.

In addition, both lateral ends of the plurality of common electrodes 131b having a bar-like shape are connected with a common electrodeconnection pattern 131 c disposed such that a portion thereof isparallel to the gate line 105 c. here, the plurality of commonelectrodes 131 b having a bar-like shape are formed to be spaced apartby a certain interval on the upper surface of the second insulating film125.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pixel electrode connection pattern 131 a isformed on the surface of the tapered structure of the first insulatingfilm 123 among the dual-structure insulating films having heterogeneouscharacteristics, and the common electrodes 131 b are formed on thesecond insulating film 125 having a step difference of a certain heightfrom the first insulating film 123. Thus, the overlay margin M1 betweenthe pixel electrode connection pattern and one lateral end of the commonelectrode and the short margin M2 between the pixel electrode connectionpattern and the edge of the common electrode during the exposure processof forming the common electrode and the pixel electrode connectionpattern as in the related art. Namely, in an embodiment of the presentinvention, although the common electrodes 131 b are formed at the upperportion of the second insulating film 125 having the reversely taperedstructure, the pixel electrode connection pattern 131 a and the commonelectrodes 131 b are not in contact due to the step difference betweenthe first insulating film 123 and the second insulating film 125.

Thus, since the common electrodes 131 b are formed on the area whichdoes not have an overlap margin with the pixel electrode connectionpattern 131 a, namely, on the upper portion of the reversely taperedstructure of the second insulating film 125, the area of the commonelectrode can be increased as much compared with the related art, thusimproving the aperture ratio and transmittance.

The method for fabricating the array substrate for an LCD deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention configured asdescribed above will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6Q asfollows.

FIGS. 6A to 6Q are sectional views of a process for fabricating thearray substrate for an LCD device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

As shown in FIG. 6A, a plurality of pixel regions including a switchingregion are defined on the transparent insulating substrate 101, and afirst transparent conductive material layer 103 and a first conductivemetal layer 105 are deposited on the transparent insulating substrate101 through sputtering. In this case, the first transparent conductivematerial layer 103 may be made of any one selected from the groupconsisting of ITO and IZO.

Also, the first conductive metal layer 105 may be made of at least oneselected from the conductive metal group consisting of aluminum (Al),tungsten (W), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), titanium(Ti), molytungsten (MoV), molytitanium (MoTi), and copper/molytitanium(Cu/MoTi).

And then, photoresist having high transmittance is coated on the firstconductive metal layer 105 to form a first photosensitive film 107.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6B, an exposure process is performed onthe first photosensitive film 107 by using a first diffraction mask 109including a light blocking region 109 a, a translucent region 109 b, anda transmission region 109 c. In this case, the light blocking region 109a of the first diffraction mask 109 is positioned at an upper side ofthe first photosensitive film 107 corresponding to a gate electrodeformation region, and the translucent region 109 b of the diffractionmask 109 is positioned at an upper side of the first photosensitive film107 corresponding to a pixel electrode formation region. Also, besidesthe first diffraction mask 109, a mask using a diffraction effect oflight, e.g., a half-tone mask, or any other masks, may also be used.

As shown in FIG. 6C, after the exposure process is performed, the firstphotosensitive film 107 is patterned through a developing process toform the gate electrode formation region 107 a and the pixel electrodeformation region 107 b. Here, light has not transmitted through the gateelectrode formation region 107 a, so the thickness of the firstphotosensitive film 107 is maintained, while light has partiallytransmitted through the pixel electrode formation region 107 b, so acertain thickness of the pixel electrode formation region 107 b has beenremoved. Namely, the pixel electrode formation region 107 b is thinnerthan the gate electrode formation region 107 a.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6D, the first conductive metal layer 105and the first transparent conductive material layer 103 are patterned byusing the gate electrode formation region 107 a and the pixel electrodeformation region 107 b as masks to form a gate line (not shown), thegate electrode 105 a protruded from the gate line, and the pixelelectrode 103 b. Here, when the first conductive metal layer 105 and thefirst transparent conductive material layer 103 are patterned, the firstconductive metal layer pattern 105 b and the second conductive materiallayer pattern 103 a are also formed. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the pixelelectrode 103 b is disposed to be separated from the gate line 105 c andthe data line 117 c on the entire surface of the pixel region.

As shown in FIG. 6E, a portion of the thickness of the gate electrodeformation region 107 a on the gate electrode 105 a and the pixelelectrode formation region 107 b on the first conductive metal layerpattern are selectively etched through an ashing process to completelyremove the pixel electrode formation region 107 b. Then, an upperportion of the first conductive metal pattern 105 is exposed.

As shown in FIG. 6F, the exposed first conductive metal layer pattern105 b is removed by using the gate electrode formation region 107 a, aportion of the thickness of which has been etched through the ashingprocess, is removed by using the gate electrode formation region 107 aas a blocking film, and the, the gate electrode formation region 107 aof the first photosensitive film is also removed. At this time, thetransparent first conductive material layer pattern 103 a under the gateelectrode 105 a remains as it is, rather than being etched.

Thereafter, a gate insulating film 111 formed of a nitride silicon film(SiNxO or a silicon oxide film (SiO₂) is formed on the entire surface ofthe insulating substrate 101 including the gate electrode 105 a and thepixel electrode 103 b.

As shown in FIG. 6F, an amorphous silicon layer (a-Si:H) 113, anamorphous silicon layer (n+ or p+) 115 including impurities, and asecond conductive metal layer 117 are sequentially stacked on the entiresurface of the substrate 101 with the gate insulating film 111 formedthereon. At this time, the amorphous silicon layer (a-Si:H) 113 and theamorphous silicon layer (n+ or p+) 115 including impurities aredeposited through chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and the secondconductive metal layer 117 is deposited through sputtering. Here, theCVD method and the sputtering method are mentioned as the depositionmethods, but any other deposition methods may be also used as necessary.At this time, the second conductive metal layer 117 may be made of atleast one selected from the conductive metal group consisting ofaluminum (Al), tungsten (W), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), chromium(Cr), titanium (Ti), molytungsten (MoV), molytitanium (MoTi), andcopper/molytitanium (Cu/MoTi).

As shown in FIG. 6G, photoresist having high transmittance is coated onthe second conductive metal layer 117 to form a second photosensitivefilm 119.

Thereafter, an exposure process is performed on the secondphotosensitive film 119 by using a second diffraction mask 121 includinga light blocking region 121 a, a translucent region 121 b, and atransmission region 121 c. In this case, the light blocking region 121 aof the second diffraction mask 121 is positioned at an upper side of thesecond photosensitive film 119 corresponding to a source and drainelectrode formation region, and the translucent region 121 b of thediffraction mask 121 is positioned at an upper side of the secondphotosensitive film 119 corresponding to a channel formation region of aTFT. Also, besides the second diffraction mask 121, a mask using adiffraction effect of light, e.g., a half-tone mask, or any other masks,may also be used.

As shown in FIG. 6H, after the exposure process is performed, the secondphotosensitive film 119 is patterned through a developing process toform a source and drain formation region 119 a and a channel formationregion 119 b. Here, light has not transmitted through the source anddrain electrode formation region 119 a, so the thickness of the secondphotosensitive film 119 is maintained, while light has partiallytransmitted through the channel formation region 119 b, so a certainthickness of the channel formation region 119 b has been removed.Namely, the channel formation region 119 b is thinner than the sourceand drain electrode formation region 119 a.

As shown in FIG. 6I, the second conductive metal layer 117, theamorphous silicon layer 115 including impurities, and the amorphoussilicon layer 113 are sequentially patterned by using the source anddrain electrode formation region 119 a and the channel formation region119 b as masks to form an ohmic-contact layer 115 a and an active layer113 a on the gate insulating film 111 corresponding to the gateelectrode 105 a.

As shown in FIG. 6J, a portion of the thickness of the source and drainformation region 119 a and the channel formation region 119 b arecompletely removed through an ashing process. Here, an upper portion ofthe second conductive layer 117 is exposed from the channel area.

As shown in FIG. 6K, the second conductive layer 117 is patterned byusing the source and drain electrode formation region 119 a of thesecond photosensitive film, a portion of thickness of which has beenremoved, to form the source electrode 117 a and the drain electrode 117b which are spaced apart.

Subsequently, the ohmic-contact layer 115 a exposed between the sourceelectrode 117 a and the drain electrode 117 b is also etched so as to beseparated. Here, a channel region is formed on the active layer 113 apositioned under the etched ohmic-contact layer 115 a.

As shown in FIG. 6L, the source and drain electrode formation region 119a of the second photosensitive film is removed, a first insulating film123 and a second insulating film 125 having heterogeneouscharacteristics are sequentially deposited on the entire surface of thesubstrate 101, and then, photoresist having high transmittance is coatedon the second insulting film 125 to form a third photosensitive film127.

Here, the first insulating film is formed of a silicon nitride film withrich nitrogen and is deposited to have a thickness ranging from about3000 Å to about 5000 Å at a temperature ranging from about about 300° C.to about 800° C. Also, the second insulating film 125 is formed of asilicon nitride film with poor nitrogen and is deposited to have athickness ranging from about 1000 Å to about 3000 Å at a temperatureranging from about about 100° C. to about 300° C. At this time, as forthe rich and poor conditions of the silicon nitride film (SiN), whennitrogen rate is high based on a reference rate (e.g., Si:3, N:4),nitrogen is rich and when nitrogen rate is low based on the referencerate, nitrogen is poor. Here, the thickness of the first insulating film123 and that of the second insulating film 125 are described to belimited, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and adifferent thickness range may be applied as necessary.

Thus, it can be considered that the first insulating film 123 has a highnitrogen (N) rate compared with silicon (Si), and the second insulatingfilm 125 has a low nitrogen (N) rate compared with silicon (Si).

As shown in FIG. 6M, an exposure and developing process are performedthrough photolithography using an exposure mask (not shown) to patternthe third photosensitive film 127 to form a third photosensitive filmpattern 127 a.

As shown in FIG. 6N, the dual-structure insulating films, namely, thesecond insulating film 125 and the first insulating film 123, aredry-etched by using the third photosensitive film pattern 127 a as amask to form a contact hole 129 having an undercut shape. At this time,when the contact hole 129 is formed, a portion of the gate insulatingfilm 111 is also etched to expose a portion of the underlying pixelelectrode 103 b. Also, when the contact hole 129 is formed, portions ofthe drain electrode 117 b, the ohmic-contact layer 115 a, and the activelayer 113 a are also exposed.

Meanwhile, since the second insulating film 125 and the first insulatingfilm 123 have different characteristics, namely, different depositiontemperatures or different content of nitrogen (N) over silicon (Si)contained therein, when the second insulating film 125 and the firstinsulating film 123 are dry-etched, the etching rate becomes fast towardthe interface of these films in forming the contact hole 129. Thus,since the interface of the second insulating film 125 and the firstinsulating film 123 is more etched, the contact 129 finally has thesectional area structure having an undercut shape. Namely, the innerside face of the first insulating film 123 of the contact hole 129 has atapered structure, and the inner side face of the second insulating film124 has a reversely tapered structure. Thus, the width of a centralportion of the contact hole 129 is larger than the upper and lowerportions of the contact hole 129. Meanwhile, besides the depositiontemperature or the nitrogen content rate, the second insulating film 125and the first insulating film 123 may have any other physicalcharacteristics.

Subsequently, the third photosensitive film pattern 127 a is removed,and a second transparent conductive material layer 131 is deposited byusing any one selected from the group consisting of ITO and IZO on thesecond insulating film 125 including the contact hole 129 throughsputtering. At this time, when the second transparent conductivematerial layer 131 is deposited, an electrode separation phenomenonoccurs due to the step between the upper and lower films, so a pixelelectrode connection pattern 131 a is formed to electrically connect thedrain electrode 117 b and the pixel electrode 103 b within the contacthole 129. As for the electrode separation phenomenon due to the stepbetween the upper and lower films generated when the transparentconductive material layer 131 is deposited, since the inner side face ofthe contact hole 129 has the undercut shape, the second transparentconductive material layer 131 is not deposited at the central portion ofthe inner side face of the contact hole 129, so the second transparentconductive material layer 131 is naturally separated. Thus, the secondtransparent conductive material layer 131 is formed only on the surfaceof the second insulating film 125, and only the pixel electrodeconnection pattern 131 a is formed within the contact hole 129.

As shown in FIG. 6O, photoresist having high transmittance is coated onthe second transparent conductive material layer 131 including thecontact hole 129 with the pixel electrode connection pattern 131 aformed thereon to form a fourth photosensitive film 133 and a coverphotosensitive film 133 a. At this time, the cover photosensitive film133 a is coated within the contact hole 129, completely covering thepixel electrode connection pattern 131 a.

As shown in FIG. 6P, an exposure and developing process is performedthrough photolithography using an exposure mask (not shown) to patternthe fourth photosensitive film 133 to thus form a fourth photosensitivefilm pattern 133 b. At this time, when the fourth photosensitive film133 is patterned, the pixel electrode connection pattern 131 a iscompletely covered by the cover photosensitive film 133 a, the pixelelectrode 103 b cannot be exposed to be damaged. Namely, since the pixelelectrode connection pattern 131 a is completely covered by the coverphotosensitive film 133 a, when the fourth photosensitive film 133 ispatterned, the phenomenon of the related art in which a portion of thepixel electrode is lost to cause a disconnection does not take place.

As shown in FIG. 6Q, the second transparent conductive material layer131 is patterned by using the fourth photosensitive film pattern 133 bas a mask to simultaneously form a plurality of separated commonelectrodes 131 b having a bar-like shape and a common electrodeconnection pattern (not shown) (Refer to 131 c in FIG. 4) connectingboth ends of the plurality of common electrodes 131 b.

Subsequently, although not shown, the cover photosensitive film 133 awithin the contact hole 129 including the fourth photosensitive filmpattern 133 b is removed, thus completing the process of fabricating thearray substrate for an IPS mode LCD device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

Thereafter, although not shown, a color filter substrate fabricationprocess and a process of filling a liquid crystal layer between thearray substrate and a color filter substrate are performed to fabricatethe IPS mode LCD device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

As described above, according to the array substrate for an LCD deviceand its fabrication method, the dual-structure insulating films havingheterogeneous characteristics, namely, the first silicon nitride filmand the second silicon nitride film having a dual structure havingdifferent deposition temperature and the nitrogen content over silicon,are applied to cause an undercut phenomenon in performing the etchingprocess to form the drain electrode and the pixel electrode connectioncontact hole. Thus, the electrode separation phenomenon occurs due tothe step between the upper and lower films when the transparentconductive material layer (i.e., the ITO layer) is deposited, thusapplying a high step between the protective film and the gate oxidefilm. Also, by using the phenomenon in which the photosensitive filmremains at the contact hole portion with respect to the patterningexposure conditions of the transparent conductive material layer forforming the common electrodes, the underlying pixel electrode can remainwithout a loss due to the photosensitive film during wet etching.

Accordingly, the overlay margin between one end of the common electrodeand the pixel electrode connection line and the short margin between theedge of one lateral side of the common electrode and the pixel electrodeconnection line can be reduced to the maximum in exposing thetransparent conductive layer to increasing the area of the upper commonelectrodes, thus enhancing the aperture ratio and transmittance.

Also, since the array substrate for an IPS mode LCD device can befabricated through a total of four masking processes, namely, throughthe first masking process for forming the gate electrode and the pixelelectrode, the second masking process for forming the active layer andthe source and drain electrodes, the third masking process for formingthe contact hole to connect the drain electrode and the pixel electrode,and the fourth masking process for forming the common electrode. Thus,the number of fabrication processes can be shortened.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understoodthat the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of thedetails of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, butrather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in theappended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fallwithin the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metesand bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

1. An array substrate for a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, thesubstrate comprising: a substrate; a gate line disposed in one directionon one surface of the substrate; a data line crossing the gate line todefine a pixel area; a thin film transistor (TFT) configured at acrossing of the gate line and the data line; a pixel electrode disposedat a pixel region of the substrate; an insulating film on the entiresurface of the substrate including the pixel electrode and the TFT,including a first insulating film comprising a high temperature siliconnitride film and a second insulating film comprising a low temperaturesilicon nitride film, and having a contact hole having an undercut shapeexposing the pixel electrode; a pixel electrode connection patterndisposed within the contact hole having an undercut shape and connectedwith the pixel electrode and the TFT; and a plurality of commonelectrodes separately disposed on the insulating film.
 2. The arraysubstrate of claim 1, wherein the TFT includes a gate electrode, anactive layer, a source electrode, and a drain electrode.
 3. The arraysubstrate of claim 1, wherein the contact hole having an undercut shapeis configured by a tapered structure of the first insulating film and areversely tapered structure of the second insulating film.
 4. The arraysubstrate of claim 1, wherein the width of a central portion of thecontact hole is larger than those of upper and lower portions of thecontact hole.
 5. The array substrate of claim 2, wherein the pixelelectrode connection pattern is in contact with an inner face of thefirst insulating film, the drain electrode, the active layer, and thepixel electrode.
 6. The array substrate of claim 1, wherein the firstinsulating film comprising the high temperature silicon nitride film isformed at a temperature ranging from about 300° C. to about 800° C., andthe second insulating film formed of the low temperature silicon nitridefilm is formed at a temperature ranging from about 100° C. to about 300°C.
 7. The array substrate of claim 1, wherein the first insulating filmcomprising the high temperature silicon nitride film has a higher rateof nitrogen (N) over silicon (Si), and the second insulating filmcomprising the lower temperature silicon nitride film has a lower rateof nitrogen (N) over silicon (Si).
 8. The array substrate of claim 1,wherein the gate electrode and the source and drain electrodes are madeof at least one material selected from the conductive metal groupconsisting of aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo),chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), molytungsten (MoV), molytitanium (MoTi),and copper/molytitanium (Cu/MoTi).
 9. The array substrate of claim 1,wherein the pixel electrode connection pattern and the common electrodesare made of the same conductive material.
 10. The array substrate ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of common electrodes are connected by acommon electrode connection pattern connected to both ends of therespective common electrodes.
 11. A method for fabricating an arraysubstrate for a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, the methodcomprising: preparing a substrate; forming a gate line arranged in onedirection along with a pixel electrode on the substrate; forming a dataline crossing the gate line to define a pixel area; forming a TFT at thecrossing of the gate line and the data line; stacking a first insulatingfilm formed of a high temperature silicon nitride film and a secondinsulating film formed of a low temperature silicon nitride film on theentire surface of the substrate including the pixel electrode and theTFT; patterning the second insulating film and the first insulating filmto form a contact hole having an undercut shape exposing the pixelelectrode and the TFT; forming a pixel electrode connection patternconnected with the pixel electrode and the TFT within the contact holehaving an undercut shape; and forming a plurality of common electrodesseparately on the second insulating film.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the forming of the gate line and the pixel electrode comprises:sequentially forming a first transparent conductive material layer and afirst conductive metal layer on the substrate; coating a firstphotosensitive film on the first conductive metal layer; patterning thefirst photosensitive film through a masking process using a firstdiffraction mask to form a first photosensitive film pattern having afirst thickness and a second thickness smaller than the first thickness;patterning the first conductive metal layer and the first transparentconductive material by using the first photosensitive film pattern as amask to form the gate line and the pixel electrode together; performingan ashing process to remove the first photosensitive film pattern havingthe second thickness; removing the conductive metal layer under theportion from which the first photosensitive film pattern having thesecond thickness has been removed, to expose the pixel electrode; andremoving the first photosensitive film pattern having the firstthickness.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the forming of the TFTcomprises: forming a gate insulating film, an amorphous silicon layer,an amorphous silicon layer including impurities, and a second conductivemetal layer on the entire surface of the substrate including the gateline and the pixel electrode; forming a second photosensitive film at anupper portion of the second conductive metal layer and patterning thesame through a masking process using a second diffraction mask to form asecond photosensitive film pattern having a first thickness and a secondthickness smaller than the first thickness; patterning the secondconductive metal layer, the amorphous silicon layer includingimpurities, and the amorphous silicon layer by using the secondphotosensitive film pattern as a mask to form a second conductive metallayer pattern, an ohmic-contact layer, and an active layer; removing thephotosensitive film pattern having the second thickness through anashing process to expose the second conductive metal layer at an upperportion of a channel region; and removing the exposed second conductivemetal layer and the underlying ohmic-contact layer to form source anddrain electrodes.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the forming of thecontact hole having the undercut shape exposing the pixel electrode andthe TFT by selectively patterning the second insulating layer and thefirst insulating layer comprises: forming a third photosensitive film onthe second insulating film and patterning the same to form a thirdphotosensitive film pattern; and dry-etching the second insulating filmand the first insulating film by using the third photosensitive filmpattern as a mask to form the contact hole having the undercut shape.15. The method of claim 11, wherein the forming of the pixel electrodeconnection pattern and the plurality of common electrodes comprises:forming the second conductive metal layer at an upper portion of thesecond insulating film including the contact hole having the undercutshape and the pixel electrode connection pattern connecting the pixelelectrode and the TFT within the contact hole; forming a fourthphotosensitive film covering the pixel electrode connection patternwithin the contact hole including the second conductive metal layer;patterning the fourth photosensitive film at an upper portion of thesecond conductive metal layer to form a fourth photosensitive filmpattern; and patterning the second conductive metal layer by using thefourth photosensitive film pattern as a mask to form the plurality ofcommon electrodes.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the contact holehaving an undercut shape is configured by a tapered structure of thefirst insulating film and a reversely tapered structure of the secondinsulating film.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the width of acentral portion of the contact hole is larger than those of upper andlower portions of the contact hole.
 18. The method of claim 13, whereinthe pixel electrode connection pattern is in contact with an inner faceof the first insulating film within the contact hole, the active layer,the drain electrode, and the pixel electrode.
 19. The method of claim11, wherein the first insulating film formed of the high temperaturesilicon nitride film is formed at a temperature ranging from about 300°C. to about 800° C., and the second insulating film formed of the lowtemperature silicon nitride film is formed at a temperature ranging fromabout 100° C. to about 300° C.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein thefirst insulating film formed of the high temperature silicon nitridefilm has a higher rate of nitrogen (N) over silicon (Si), and the secondinsulating film formed of the lower temperature silicon nitride film hasa lower rate of nitrogen (N) over silicon (Si).
 21. The method of claim12 or claim 13, wherein the first and second conductive metal layers aremade of at least one selected from the conductive metal group consistingof aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), chromium(Cr), titanium (Ti), molytungsten (MoV), molytitanium (MoTi), andcopper/molytitanium (Cu/MoTi).
 22. The method of claim 11, wherein thepixel electrode connection pattern and the common electrodes are made ofthe same conductive material.